First-ever South Korean wedding held in North Korea

(eTN) The first South Koreans to tie the knot in North Korea wed in a ceremony at Mount Geumgang, a scenic North Korean mountain frequented by South Korean tourists, tour company Hyundai Asan said on Sunday (Dec. 3).

Choe Jeong-in, a 32-year-old employee of Hyundai Asan, and Cho Ah-ra, 24, who works for one of Hyundai Asan’s business partners, married in a ceremony at a Mount Geumgang hotel on Saturday (Dec. 2), three years after they first met while working at the North Korean resort.

Hyundai Asan, a subsidiary of Hyundai Group, started the Mount Geumgang tours in 1998. Since then, about 1.4 million people, including 8,000 visitors from around the world, have visited the North Korean resort.

According to company officials, about 300 South Korean guests crossed the inter-Korean border to attend the wedding ceremony.

Hyundai Asan President Yun Man-jun officiated, while North Korean employees of the resort served food, they said.

“We decided to hold our wedding ceremony in North Korea because my bride, Cho, was charmed by the beauty of Mount Geumgang and wanted to have her relatives experience the beautiful North Korean mountain,” Choe was quoted by Hyundai officials as saying.

“I deeply thank everyone who helped and celebrated my wedding. I wish marriages between South and North Korean people would be held at Mount Geumgang in the future,” he said.